11/17/2008 @ 8:20AM

DeVry Taps Harold Shapiro As Board Chair

DeVry’s newest admission is a former Princeton University president. Harold T. Shapiro, board member since 2001, has been elected chairman at a time when more out-of-work people are likely to return to the classroom.

On Thursday, Princeton University graduate
Dennis
Keller
Dennis Keller
passed the reins as
DeVry
chairman to
Harold T.
Shapiro
Harold T. Shapiro
, former Princeton president and a graduate of its economics doctorate program. In his 35 years as board chairman, Keller saw the school’s enrollment soar from a few students to more than 100,000, annually. Given the deteriorating job market, enrollment is unlikely to go anywhere but up as people opt to go back to school rather than look for work. (See “No End In Sight For U.S. Jobless Claims.”)

The for-profit, publicly traded company has withstood criticism that it’s little more than a degree factory by offering associate, bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in technology, health care tech, business, management and advanced medical degrees, thanks to recent acquisitions. In late October, the company reported earnings that were nearly 30.0% higher than the prior year due to ramped up marketing and recruiting efforts, which boosted graduate enrollment by 12.0%.

DeVry reports undergraduate enrollment on Dec. 4. Its stock is one of the few that’s gained since the beginning of the year, up 8.8%, since the education sector is considered recession-proof. (See “Gurus Seek Meds, Toss Techs.”) Shares of the company closed Thursday’s session ahead by $3.55, or 6.7%, at $56.51, on news that it would raise its annual dividend by 33.0% to 16 cents a share.

“As a shareholder in this organization, I cannot think of a person better suited than Harold to help shape the future of DeVry,” Keller said in a statement. Keller announced his retirement in August and was named director emeritus on Thursday. In 1973, he co-founded the Keller Graduate School of Management with another DeVry executive. The school merged with DeVry in 1987 and went public in 1991. The school’s global “campus” now includes Advanced Academics, Ross University, Chamberlain College of Nursing and Becker Professional Review in addition to the Keller Graduate School. It serves students in more than 30 countries with campus-based on online program offerings.

Harold Shapiro is a former president of Princeton University and of the University of Michigan. He received his Ph.D. in economics from Princeton in 1964. In 1996, he was appointed by President Clinton to chair the National Bioethics Advisory Commission, and from 1990 to 1992 was a member of President Bush’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Shapiro has been a DeVry board member since 2001.